Completely random old pic – Pete Souza: “The President had attended the fourth grade closing ceremony for his daughter Sasha at her school in Bethesda, Md. As he was departing, he noticed some pre-school children peering out of a window at a child care facility adjacent to Sasha’s school so he walked over to say hello to them.”June 9, 2011

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MoooOOOooorning Early Birds, Happy Sunday! And another 876 gazillion thank yous to Nerdy for all her posts yesterday, I am soooo grateful I’m not even going to mention Chelsea’s defeat. (2-0!). Thank you legend, soooooo much.

Just want to say on this morning, in the after math of the Dunn verdict:

THE OBAMA DIARY is the only interracial place where I feel safe. I think my sons and grandson would be safe if TOD were a country. As for the real one, I really wish there was some place we could go where wrong was fairly judged, no matter who did it.

(((HUGS))), eve. Good morning to all, So sad still this morning. Reading the rest of the thread from last night and eve’s comment…….my heart hurts. Also, selfishly find myself thankful that my daughter and son-in-law adopted a bi-racial girl and not a boy. Am hoping all of you understand why I say that. Oh, what a world!!??

May we all look to the good and focus on that. Blessed and happy day to all.

We have a trusting community here that is rare. We are also activists who are working for a better country, each in our own way.
Day by day. City by city. Block by block.
Thankfully, we have each other.

Perfectly stated meta. I love this idea too. Your comment also made me think of something very poignant that then Senator Barack Obama said back in November 2008 during the last rally before election day. He essentially asked the crowd to be his ambassadors and close the deal. I have felt like an ambassador ever since then. And I think that is what is being expressed this morning. We are ambassadors for the truth. You see it with every TOD post. You see with every tweet that calls out a lie, racism or hate speak. You see it with the powerful TOD commentary that always gets to the heart of the matter. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

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“I need you to be my ambassadors,” Obama told the throng. “I need you to make the case. I need you to close the deal.”

Good morning. This is a new day and a new chance to make the world a little bit better. We really are more powerful than we think we are. Some of our states are dying from deeply imbedded stupidity and hatred. We can make a difference one state at a time. California has shown us how much state elections matter. This is our job now. We fight back. We win, one election at a time.

GM TOD – I feel quite inadequate to even discuss how the trial ended yesterday. When looking for Steve K on MSNBC this am – my usual online site is showing a show from (I assume) NBC – which had a white man & blond white woman discussing the trial. I found them completely without any claim of knowing what they were talking about – so I don’t intend to emulate them.

I heard the anguish yesterday – there have to be solutions and there are so many that want this to change – it seems such a very long walk for so many. I do hope you all find some peace from having this wonderful place.

The problem is bigger than prosecutor Angela Corey or her team. It’s even bigger than Michael Dunn, the man who hated “rap crap” and fired 10 shots at a carload of unarmed teenagers. We have a problem with our attitude toward guns in America. We have a problem with white racial entitlement in America. We have a problem with the objectification and demonization of young Black men in America. And we have a problem with a legal system that enables private citizens to take the law in their own hands and execute Black kids on the street.

Yes, I’m mad as hell about the failure to convict Dunn for murder. But I’m just as angry at my country for empowering people like Dunn in the first place. I’m mad at my own state of Florida for acting out of irrational fear to embolden angry white men with weapons. And I’m mad at the citizens of this country who blithely continue on with colorblind fantasies and pretend that racism has been abolished, except when attributed to resentful Black people.

My privilege is that I live in a deep blue state and a deep blue city. Still, I see and feel injustice in my bones. I have tasted bigotry and sexism in my lifetime. I know we are stronger together.

Last night I read about this beautiful project. Check it out to lift your spirits. While it’s a kickstarter project, I’m not posting here to suggest anyone donate. I simply want to offer its beauty in a time of great pain as a reminder that we are strong and we will PUSH ON.

Project 562 Surviving Disappearance: photography of modern American Indians in the United States http://t.co/LneLudYs8S

If Dunn had not exited his car and shot at the fleeing car, he could have walked out of court a free man yesterday—-unbelievably—–because with the Stand Your Ground defense, there does not have to be an actual weapon in possession of the victim(s)——defendant only needs to say he “thought” there was a threatening weapon in possession of the victim. That’s nuts. And, again, the big problem is the proliferation of guns in this country. No guns, no deaths. These high profile cases get all the publicity, but there are horrific gun deaths/shootings daily in this country. Just a couple I can think of last week in Chicago—–a 14 yr. old boy was shot to death while shoveling snow in front of his home, a 15 yr. old girl was shot twice in the head, her mother shot in the neck as they were leaving for school, the shooter a jilted boyfriend of the girl. There have been “roughly 39,767” gun deaths just since Newtown, and that’s not even counting the thousands of non fatal gun injuries. It’s obscene.

Don’t forget POTUS interview with Charles Barkley tonight, I think it is before the start of the NBA All star game. They should have gotten some NFL announcer to interview POTUS during the Super Bowl instead of that jackass O’Reilly.

I saw bits of the interview last night, anniebella and it is delightful. POTUS clearly having a good time talking basketball with Charles Barkley. Charles said that the interview will also be about the ACA and the Presidents new programs for young men.

Someone should make a big deal about this. McCain spoke the truth this time….the GOP needs immigration reform to win elections….not because IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, but to win elections! I detest these people.

the challenge for us is how to break through the noise and distractions to keep people focused on what matters – this is hard but it can be done;

here is one way I have chosen to start:

– tempting though it is at times, I decided long ago never to mention the names of those people/politicians which the media seems determined to force down our throats. I never forward stories about them – this means I ha not contributed to advertising them further;

– I try to look for positive stories about PBO and his team and I keep forwarding these no matter how many times they come across my timeline;

– I try to encourage and support those people who stand up for my rights and those who speak out in praise of PBO and his team

Keep reminding us, Linda, because it’s easy to get off the track for all of us. But your way is how we might proceed in a meaningful way, not just fall victim to the traps put before us – and the President! Thanks.